7 terrorists killed in two encounters in Jammu and Kashmir; Ansar Gajwat-ul Hind is wiped out

New Delhi: A search operation was carried out by a joint team of police and army in Tral on receipt of information about the presence of terrorists in the area. During this time, an encounter between the militants and the security forces started. As soon as the security forces reached the place where the terrorists were hiding, they started heavy firing, after which the security forces also retaliated and killed 7 terrorists.

Police said today that seven militants have been killed in two separate operations of security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. Four army personnel have been injured in the encounters, with police saying their condition is now stable.

Five militants were killed during an operation in Shopian district. The operation was carried out in the area on Thursday. The slain militants are believed to be members of Ansar Gajwat-ul Hind (AGH), a fundamentalist group in Kashmir affiliated to al-Qaeda.

On Friday morning, five militants were killed by security forces in two encounters at Tral and Shopian in Jammu and Kashmir.

According to police, in Shopian, at least one terrorist took refuge in a mosque after an overnight encounter. The encounter started in Shopian city on Thursday evening. Police said 4 militants have been killed by security forces. Four security personnel were also injured in the shelling.

Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said, “We sent people including the Imam of the mosque inside to convince the pious terrorists to surrender. But they refused and resorted to firing.”

He said that he used tear smoke shells to drive out the terrorists so as not to cause serious damage to the mosque.

“We were able to save the mosque and also killed five terrorists inside it,” Mr. Kumar said.

In the encounter, two militants managed to escape during the initial shootout, but were eventually chased and killed in the Tral area of ​​Pulwama this morning, the officer said.

During counter-terrorism operations, police and security forces destroy targeted homes where terrorists are suspected to be hiding.

On Thursday, a palatial house on the outskirts of Srinagar was damaged following which the police suspected the terrorists to be inside. But after a 17-hour-long operation, no one was found.

A police official said that among the slain terrorists is Imtiaz Shah, the head of the AGH in Kashmir.

After this operation, the police said that Ansar Gajwat-ul Hind has been wiped out of Kashmir.